Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday stated that replacing the rupee symbol (₹) with the Tamil letters that form the sound “ru” – from “rupai” (rupees in Tamil) – in the logo for the 2025-’26 state Budget reflected the state’s commitment towards the language policy.

“Those who do not like Tamil made it big news,” Stalin said in a video released on social media.

On Thursday, the chief minister released the new logo, which reads “Ellorkkum Ellaam” (Everything for Everyone). The state government’s decision to replace the rupee symbol drew criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Tamil Nadu government’s move weakened national unity.

“All elected representatives and authorities are sworn under the Constitution to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of our nation,” Sitharaman said in a post on X. “Removing a national symbol like ‘₹’ from the State Budget documents goes against that very oath.”

On Sunday, Stalin claimed that Sitharaman had also previously used the Tamil letter “Ru” in place of “Re” in English, The News Minute reported.

He also stated that Sitharaman had responded to this matter but not to Tamil Nadu’s plea for funds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, or MGNREGA, disaster management and school education.

Sitharaman had said that the move by the Dravidra Munnetra Kazhagam government in Tamil Nadu to replace the rupee symbol “promotes secessionist sentiments under the pretence of regional pride”.

The finance minister added that the rupee symbol is internationally recognised and serves as a visible identity of India in global financial transactions.

“At a time when India is pushing for cross-border payments using UPI, should we really be undermining our own national currency symbol?” she questioned.

This came amid Tamil Nadu’s continued opposition to the three-language formula in the National Education Policy. The three-language formula refers to teaching students English, Hindi and the native language of a state. It was introduced in the first National Education Policy in 1968 and was retained in the new policy introduced in 2020.

The Tamil Nadu government, however, says it will not change the decades-old two-language policy.